The Battle for Saint Amand

General Ziethen from the Prussian 1st Corps, gazed out form the village of St Amand de la Haye. Across the fields of grain he could clearly see the standards of the IIIrd Corps of the French Army of the North. Here, he thought, in this scattered settlement, would the French hammer fall. His Corps had been conducting a series of fighting withdrawals ever since Napoleon crossed the River Sambre at Charleroi on 15 June 1815. The Prussian Army of the Lower Rhein had been ordered to concentrate at the village of  Sombreffe, also hoping to link up with the allied forced under the command of The Duke Wellington. 

Ziethen turned his horse and started back towards I Corps headquarters, his Prussians were out numbered, and too many of them were new Landwehr, boys mostly. But all they had to do was hold on and make Napoleon's soldiers pay in blood for every brick of this village.

The Game

After a lot of discussions and organising it was time to play our second scenario of the 1815, The Hundred Days 100 Days Campaign with Ligny - The Battle for Saint Amand. 

The French had around 29 battalions of most line units with a solid amount of 'grenadier' grade troops to the Prussian 18 infantry battalions with half of these being Landwehr reservists. The French victory conditions were to take and hold at least three of the four built up areas after 18 turns. All the Prussians had to do was to  survive and hold on. Most of this will be from the Prussian perspective. 

A rough map of the battle field. The village A is St Amand de la Haye and B is St Amand. Each consisted of two  Built Up Areas that could be garrisoned by a single battalion. So for clarity going clockwise, St Amand, Little St Amand, St Amand de la Haye and then Little St Amand de la Haye. 

The table as set up. Not that the map is around the other way to this photo.

The Attack Begins

The Prussians of Ziethan's I Corps were drawn up in a line between the four settlements. The 3rd Westphalian Landwehr made up of three battalions and a battery of 9pdr guns held  St Amand propper and the fields and woods to the left of the Prussian line. Jagow's 3rd Brigade of the 7th and 29th Regiment held the remaining settlements and the orchards between both St Amands. It was a thin line indeed to be facing the massed columns of Napoleon's Army of the North.

Général de division Vandamme of the French IIIrd Corps formed up his forces, with units of Baron Berthezene's 11th Division facing Saint Armand, with the line moving to Lefol's 8th Division in two brigades poised to attack Saint Amand de la Haye and the orchards. Two units of Chasseurs a cheval would be positioned on the French right and look to swweep around the flanks of the Prussian positions.

The French Centre

French Left

As soon as the French had begun to deploy, the Prussian gunners opened up at the leading French battalions. 
Eager to close the distance, the 12th Regiment of the Line moved forward supported by the 56th Line of the 11th Division, the town of Saint Amand their target. 

Saint Amand 

Berthezene's 11th Division, on the French right begins the attack on Saint Amand.

The guns near Saint Amand fired again and again, first round shout, bouncing horribly through the oncoming French columns, then as they drew closer, cannister. Like giant shotguns the 9 pounders of the Prussian artillery gouged great holes in the oncoming French,  but still they cam on. Then the muskets of the infantry opened up. Desperate to come to grips with the enemy, the French columns charged towards the town. Round after round slammed into the French, and has they charged on came under cross fire from the other defending Prussian Landwehr. The Prussian's remembered the humiliation of Jena and doubled their fire. 

The French attack stalled, and then started to fall back. But still the muskets and guns remained at their deadly work.  Berthezens French battalions fell back, bloodied and broken, their attack stopped dead at outskirts of Saint Amand!

 

The French regroup and push the centre

Watching the withdrawing elements of Berthezene's 11th Division, the French commanders took pause and started to organise their next attack. More deliberate now they would launch the entire line at the Prussians, focusing on the centre and the village of Saint Amand de la Haye.

The French have massed for the attack on the Prussian right and centre.

The aim was to clear the woods and first isolate the garrisoned villages before going in with the bayonet. 

The French voltigeurs screen the advance.

Over on the Prussin right the black clad hussars of Lutzow's Freikorps moved forward to check the French advance, but they came under repeated fire of the advancing columns. They charged the nearest French battalion, but the French kept their nerve and presented rows of bayonets to the oncoming cavalry, driving the off. The hussars reeled back, pulling away from the inexorable advance.

The Cavalry checked, on the right, it was now the centre of the Prussian line to come under attack. Anchored in the orchards and hedge rows the Prussian Landwehr brought volley after volley to bare, but the French attack was determined and the final charge slammed into he Prussian line, throwing it back.

The Prussians are driven back by a well coordinated assault.

Having driven off the cavalry, the French move to isolate the village of Saint Amand de la Haye.

   It was now time for Little St Amand to fight. 

The left of the Prussian centre,  Little St Amand prepares to hold out.

The French come under withering fire as they approach Little Saint Amand. 

The French gunners now brought their fire onto the town, setting parts of it alight. But still the Prussians held grimly on, and again forcing the French back. 

Little Saint Amand, is set aflame but holds on. 

The French attack on the village was thrown back, with the French units badly mauled. The Prussian success was to be short lived, because cresting the hill, the Imperial Guard had arrived! 

Napoleon's Young Guard arrives.

le Garde Impériale

As the Young Guard deployed into columns of attack, the Prussian also were receiving reinforcements.

Moving off the high ground to the rear  was six battalions under the command of General Steinmetz. But no sooner did they move to reenforce the settlements of Saint Amand, they cam under attack by French cavalry that had worked its way around the flank of the Prussian line. The Prussian infantry both formed battalion masses (squares) and some fought in packed columns and beat off several spirited charges. Again and Again the French Chasseurs a cheval charged the Prussian formations and again and again they were beaten back. Soon the Prussian gunners were about to bring their guns to bare and wreaked terrible swathes thought the hapless horseman. 

The Chasseurs a cheval are eventually surrounded. While some managed to cut their way out of the trap, they were eventually pinned behind the Prussian lines and destroyed. 

In the Prussian centre three battalions of Westphalian Landwehr arrived on the field to stiffen up the defences.

More Landwehr arrive to support the centre of the Prussian line.

The Prussians are badly mauled in the centre, but they have been giving as well as they have received and the French brigade in the orchards is badly worn.

But as these forces were deploying the French moved quickly to apply more pressure on the centre. 

The Young Guard, bands playing the marching songs of the First Empire, moved into assault Little Saint Amand. 

The Young Guard move in to isolate the village before launching the assault.

The fighting in Little Saint Amand was fierce and was the work of mucket butt and bayonet. The leading Young Guard was taking casualties, but they were still The Garde Imperial! And they forced their way forward forcing out the defenders. The French tricolour would now fly above Little Saint Amand. 

The Prussian right crumbles

As the Guard fought their way into Saint Amand, the were also pushing steadily on the Prussian right. Clearing out the Prussian skirmishers for the surrounding orchards and hedgerows the lead units of the Lefols brigade cleared the area around St Amand de la Haye. Isolated and now cut off the defenders were only able to beat off the initial probing attacks before being forced to withdraw. The Landwehr reserves moved forward to try to relieve St Amand de la Haye but were hit by French attack columns now on both sides of  de lay Haye.

Again fighting and withdrawing the Prussian are trying to give space to buy time to reorganise their battered lines. But the French press home the assault and finally two of the landwehr units have had enough and flee the field. This sudden rout takes the other parts of the brigade with them fleeing away from the attacking French forces. The Prussian right flack is now in tatters as the commanders scramble to move back in order and form a new defensive line.

The French battalions push forward against an increasingly desperate defence.

As the Prussian right flank collapses, they pull back to form new defensive lines. 

Too little, too late

Back over on the Prussian left, the units of Steinmetz' brigade redress the lines and swing about to face the burning town of Little Saint Amand. Seeing this shift, the Young Guard respond and move more units forward to support the towns garrison. Fire poured into Little Saint Amand as the Prussians sought to reduce the defenders before the assault. 

The Prussian forces try to organise themselves to relieve Little Saint Amand.

But as the opposing forces ready for the last attack, night started to fall, darkness overcame the field and the firing died down and the day of battle was over.
The French had taken terrible losses, but now held three of the towns and had effectively turned the Prussian flank, the day was theirs!  

Endgame

So at the end of 18 turns the game had come to an end with a solid French victory. As this was a rather big game we run it in two sessions, Friday evening we set things up and played the firs eight turns and then gathered on Saturday morning to play thought the rest of the game. This format worked very well and will probably be how we approach the rest of the Onehunderd Days scenarios. A big thanks to Ryan and Grahame commanding the French and to Dale who provided the venue and paid with me to lead the Prussians.  

Generalfeldmarschall Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher watched in dispar as his men with drew from the burning villages of Saint Amand. Napoleon had now committed his Old Guard to drive into the town of  Ligny. Where was Wellington? Maybe the sound of guns towards the cross roads of Quatre Bras meant the English were already fighting. 
The old cavalry general called for his horse. He needed to stop or at least slow, the French advance. Gathering his Dragoons and Uhlans, he would personally lead this charge. "Forwards! My children, forwards!" With that Blücher spurred his horse and the men of the 1st Dragoons thundered after him towards the French line.